Finding Aid to the John Scarsbrook Langhorne Papers

JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VA 24501
(434) 846-0501
JOHN SCARSBROOK LANGHORNE (1817-1886) PAPERS
FOLDER 1 Deed, property near Blackwater Creek, James River & Kanawha Canal,
LANGHORNE's Mills; William DANIEL, Jr. to Henry S. LANGHORNE
(24 May 1848)
Letter, Cloverdale lot sale; John F. SALE to John S. LANGHORNE (9
January 1857)
Deed, LANGHORNE's Mills property; John F. SALE & Charles S. SCOTT
(executors of Henry S. LANGHORNE) to John S. LANGHORNE &
Charles SCOTT (1 July 1859)
Letter, Cavalry firearms; Col. D. A. LANGHORNE to Capt. J. S.
LANGHORNE (14 May 1861)
Telegram, commissions for officers in troop; W. H. RICHARDSON to
Capt. John S. LANGHORNE (13 May 1861)
Letter (Orders), reinforce HUNTER's Mill; [to] Maj. John S.
LANGHORNE, 30th Regiment Cavalry (20 October 1861)
Special Order No. 45, extension of leave for Maj. John S. LANGHORNE;
[to] Maj. John S. LANGHORNE (25 December 1861)
Special Order No. 6 (2 copies), resignation of Maj. John S. LANGHORNE;
John WITHERS to Maj. John S. LANGHORNE
Statement, LANGHORNE Mills partnership; Maj. John S. LANGHORNE
(ca. 1863)
Letter, concerning communication from Col. RADFORD to William T.
YANCEY; W. H. HALL et al, to Maj. John S. LANGHORNE (14
February 1865)
Court-martial, LANGHORNE vs. RADFORD (ca. 1861-1865)
Letter, appointment of Maj. J. S. LANGHORNE as postmaster, Lynchburg;
Alex. RIVES to Postmaster-General (23 June 1875)
Letter, appointment of Maj. John S. LANGHORNE as postmaster; John W.
DANIEL to Maj. E. S. HUTTER (14 March 1877)
Public notice, denouncing Maj. Joel W. FLOOD as swindler; John S.
LANGHORNE (26 August 1880)
Letter, introducing W. J. WHARTON & C. D. LANGHORNE; B. Frank
RICHARDSON to Col. William LUDLOW (24 June 1887)
Letter, concerning pension for James A. FOUTS; W. W. DUDLEY to C. D.
LANGHORNE (3 July 1905)
FOLDER 2 [Photocopies of above documents]
(Continued)
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JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VA 24501
JOHN SCARSBROOK LANGHORNE (1817-1886) PAPERS (Contd)
FOLDER 3 [Letters, concerning trip to Nashville and stop in Abingdon, VA. John S.
Langhorne writes to his father Henry S. Langhorne, in Lynchburg, VA,
concerning his getting established in business in Nashville, TN; dates of
the letters range from 11 October 1834 through 25 May 1836. In addition,
there is a letter to Betsy and one from John B. Dabney, 12 November
1838.]
FOLDER 4

[Typescripts of the letters in FOLDER 3.]

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JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VA 24501
(434) 846-0501
JOHN SCARSBROOK LANGHORNE (1817-1886)
John Scarsbrook LANGHORNE, son of Henry Scarsbrook LANGHORNE and
Frances STEPTOE, was born 1 June 1817 in Cumberland County, Virginia. [Obituary,
Lynchburg Virginian, 31 August 1886, p. 4 col. 2; "Langhorne," Elizabeth L. Lewis Otey
Genealogy Collection, MS1424, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg, VA (hereinafter:
Otey Collection).]
John S. LANGHORNE married 14 February 1839 Sarah Elizabeth DABNEY,
daughter of Chiswell DABNEY and Ann WIATT. [Otey Collection, loc.cit.; Lynchburg
Virginian, 18 February 1839, p. 3 col. 1. At the time of his marriage, he was "of
Amherst County."]
In the census of 1850, LANGHORNE is listed as a "distiller." [1850 Census,
Campbell County, VA (Lynchburg), National Archives and Records Service, M-432,
Roll 938, p. 97, Household 346, Family 361.] He operated a flour mill on the James
River with Charles SCOTT. According to one source, the mill was located on the
Amherst County side of the river near Lynchburg. [Otey Collection, loc.cit.]
In 1859, John S. LANGHORNE formed a partnership with Charles SCOTT in the
milling business and purchased LANGHORNE Mills from the executors of Henry S.
LANGHORNE. [John Scarsbrook Langhorne Papers, MS1734, Jones Memorial Library,
Lynchburg, VA (hereinafter: Langhorne Papers).]
In the census of 1860, John S. LANGHORNE is listed as a "miller." His real estate
was valued at $39,000, and his personal estate was valued at $10,000. [1860 Census,
Campbell County, VA, National Archives and Records Service, M-653, Roll 1338, p.
437, Household 44, Family 47.]
At the beginning of the Civil War, LANGHORNE left his milling business in the
hands of Charles SCOTT and James SCOTT (son of Charles). [Langhorne Papers,
loc.cit.] He was made Captain of the Wise Troop of the 30th Regiment Virginia Cavalry
(later the 2nd Regiment Virginia Cavalry). He was promoted to Major and later resigned
his commission. [Lee A. Wallace, A Guide to Virginia Military Organizations, Rev. 2nd
ed. (Lynchburg: H. E. Howard, 1986), p. 187. Wallace gives the date as August, 1861.
Special Order No. 6 (Langhorne Papers) announcing the resignation of Major
LANGHORNE is dated 8 January 1862. LANGHORNE in his deposition [Langhorne
Papers, loc.cit.] states that he "left the management of my affairs to the Mesrs. SCOTTs
[sic]. This was in May 1860. I remained in the Army until the next February [1861?]."
(Continued)
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JONES MEMORIAL LIBRARY
2311 MEMORIAL AVENUE
LYNCHBURG, VA 24501
(434) 846-0501
JOHN SCARSBROOK LANGHORNE (1817-1886) PAPERS (Contd)
This may be a reference to an earlier service as Captain of a company in the 1st Regiment
Cavalry Virginia Militia. (Wallace, op.cit., p. 41)]
After resigning as Major, he returned to his milling business. [Obituary, loc.cit.] In
May 1863, John S. LANGHORNE organized a cavalry unit for local defense troops.
[Wallace, op.cit., p. 187.]
In the census of 1870, John S. LANGHORNE was listed as "keep[ing] merchant
mill," and had real estate valued at $40,000 and had personal estate valued at $2,500.
[Census 1870, Campbell County, VA, National Archives and Records Service, M-593,
Roll 1638, p. 437, Household 357, Family 517.]
In the flood of 1870, LANGHORNE's milling business suffered substantial losses.
[Lynchburg Virginian, 30 September 1870, p. 3 col. 1.] Coupled with "losses sustained
upon a heavy shipment of wheat to New York," John S. LANGHORNE withdrew from
the business. [Obituary, loc.cit.]
John S. LANGHORNE died 30 August 1886, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and was buried
in the Spring Hill Cemetery. [Ibid.]

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